Trapped in a world he is not designed to cope with, Dave-El (the true Kryptonian name of alleged Earth creature David Long) writes about comics, Doctor Who, politics and whatever damned thing pops into his unbalanced mind.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Riding the Storm Out

Hi
there! Dave-El here ensconced within the mighty walls of the Fortress of
Ineptitude. Yes, even the assembled Mongol Hordes of Genghis Kahn could not get
pass the impregnable barriers of my vinyl siding. Yes, the ancient minds of
these barbaric warriors would see vinyl siding as some form of dark magic.

What
could get past the defenses of my Fortress of Ineptitude is potentially the
ferocious winds of Hurricane Matthew. Thankfully, my Fortress is located in the
relative safe environs of central North Carolina. Meanwhile, millions of people
to the south of here are not so lucky.

Matthew
has already devastated Haiti which must be on God’s pissed off list or
something because… damn!. Can bad shit stop happening to Haiti for a while? C’mon!

Friday, Matthew pounded Florida. How bad is this storm?
Disney World has closed down. I repeat: DISNEY WORLD HAS CLOSED DOWN!I thought only the 2nd coming of
Jesus Christ would cause that to happen. And even then, “The Son of God walks
amongst you, verily to ride upon thine Splash Mountain.”

What’s
particularly scary about this storm is the sheer power of it, the potential for
complete and total destruction of everything in its path.

There
are, of course, people who think they can beat this storm. Let’s call them “stupid
people”.

Seriously,
every time a major hurricane threatens some part of the United States, there
are always some yahoos who think they’re tougher ‘n’ stronger than any ol’
storm and choose to remain in its path. The operative word is “choose”.I understand that some people for some reason
or another may not have a choice to evacuate but to deliberately choose to not
evacuate when there is a chance to do so? Really, what the hell, people?

And
government agencies are making it plain up front: if you don’t get out now, we’re
not coming to get you later. I can’t help but think some of these people are so
ingrained to resist what the “gubbamint” tells them to do, even when a very
real and present danger is heading for their doorstep, they’re all, “Ain’t
nobody in the gubbamint gonna tell me no how when to leave my own home!” I
wonder how many people decided not to leave because President Obama urged
citizens to get out while they can. “Obomber ain’t my president ‘n’ I ain’t
goin’!”Well, there go the Trump voters.

OK,
maybe I shouldn’t drag politics into this natural disaster but believe it or
not, politics and weather have already collided.

Hillary
Clinton’s campaign thought an increased ad buy on the Weather Channel might be
a good idea since EVERYBODY’s gonna be watching the Weather Channel. Then
somebody realized, “Hey! Do we really want Hillary’s picture sharing space with
images of meteorological wrath and ruin?” And maybe the word “opportunistic” came up. Anyway, the
ad buy got scaled back.

Florida
Governor Lex Luthor…er, Rick Scott has refused to extend voter registration.
Scott, who is a Republican and possibly owns an underground lair of evil, said
that people have had enough time to register already. Right wing internet nut job Matt Drudge actually questioned that Hurricane Matthew was an actual threat, chalking it up to government conspiracies and the liberal media pushing a climate change agenda. Ooh boy!

By
this morning, Matthew will have made its way to the Georgia coast and onwards
to South Carolina. Then the impact of this storm gets personal. I have family
in southeastern North Carolina right at the border with South Carolina and
about ½ hour away from the beach. The assisted living facility where my mother
resides is near an area that is prone to flooding so I hope my mom and her
fellow residents remain safe. And there’s my mom’s house…or rather, what is now
my 2nd home. I had new roofing installed last year so I hope that
stands up to the storm but there’s potential damage that could come from
falling trees and flooding.

Maybe
Matthew will mostly blow itself out down to a strong breeze and a good soaking
rain by the time it gets further north. But whatever fortune brings for me
here, my thoughts are with those who are not so fortunate. Stay safe as you
can.

Remember
to be good to one another, especially to those in need. __________________________________Tomorrow on the blog thing, Episode Two of my Doctor Who fan fiction, Cybermania.